These Twin Girls Were Part Of Their Mother's Soul From Conception

Mother's intuition told 27 year old Kate from Iowa that she was having twins and that she had to stick to her guns about having them.

Kate

Kate's StoryI suspected I was pregnant with twins when while making eggs for my husband one morning, I cracked two eggs in a row with double yolks. I also had a dream that I got a letter from my doctor saying I was pregnant with twins. Two weeks later, that same letter arrived in the mail, looking identical to the one in my dream. I also had a feeling all along that I was carrying twins, even though my doctor dismissed that at first.

My pregnancy was easy and I worked as a pre-school teacher until I fell down and hurt my knee at 33 weeks. The only complication I had was overwhelming fatigue, morning sickness and bad migraines until the fourth month. Other than that I continued as normal. Towards the end I couldn't put my socks on and had to sleep in a recliner, but I felt lucky compared to other twin moms on weeks of bed-rest. I woke up one day near the end of my 35th week and knew I was going into labor within 24 hours. The babies had both dropped and I was so exhilarated to be able to breath and eat more than a few bites of food. My husband noted that I was unusually energetic and healthy looking, like I had an aura to me.

It was late November and we went shopping for Christmas decorations and then ate a late lunch at my favorite Thai place. I ate a very spicy Pad Thai and within two minutes of finishing, Baby A's bag of waters popped a leak. I told my husband that either my water broke, or I had lost all bladder control. We quickly left with the wait staff smiling and wishing us well and went off to the hospital.

Once we got settled in with an IV going and ultrasound done, I walked the halls for a while. I had my husband with me along with my good friend Susan who was going through Doula certification. I was in early labor and so far it felt like a painful period. I was committed to going as natural as possible, which was a good thing because the anesthesiologist had left for the day. It was late afternoon and I had been in labor for about three hours.

By six o clock we had turned the TV off and I was starting to get serious. I sat forward on the edge of a chair for a long time with my husband supporting me and my arms around his neck. I did a lot of blowing and low moaning. By nine o clock I was back in bed lying on my side and working hard. I had a dose of Nubain at that point which worked well for me for about an hour. The Nubain gave me enough time to relax and gather my strength for the delivery.

At ten PM I was moved into a birthing room and examined. I was at 5 cm. My OB put in an internal monitor on Baby A's scalp which tracked her heartbeat better. I also had an external monitor on for Baby B, an oxygen monitor on my finger in addition to my IV. I was pretty immobile at this point and told to lay on my side to prevent cord prolapse for Baby A. I don't remember much of what happened after this. I was in very active labor. I didn't want massage or to be touched in any way except to hold hands with my husband or doula. At one point they kindly redirected my hands away from theirs and onto the bed rails because I was squeezing so hard.

Despite all of this my OB wanted to start me on Pitocin. We all protested vigorously, telling the staff that I was very much in active labor, but after repeatedly being badgered by the nurses and my OB, I gave in. (As it turned out the Pitocin was totally unnessecary. The babies were delivered less than an hour after the Pitocin was started). By Midnight I was in transition, though nobody knew since I was only 5 cms two hours ago and hadn't been checked since. I was in a lot of pain and wanted an epidural since I didn't think I could go on any more. My only pain-coping method was groaning very low and loud.

When one of the nurses helped me to roll over from one side to another, baby A's head slipped into the birth canal and was crowning. I reached down to feel it and told the nurses that there was a head down there. They told me to quit acting crazy and to stay in control until they looked themselves. They both sprinted out of the room and came back seconds later with my OB. The whole unit was caught off guard and nurses from other areas were called in. My husband and Doula had to hold my legs since there were nobody else to do it.

I did very little pushing and at 12:33 AM Ilene came out, healthy and mad. My OB promptly broke Baby B's bag of waters and Annalisa was born four minutes later. I do remember my OB making Annalisa's arm wave as she came out, saying "Look Mom, I'm here!" I didn't think it was funny at the time, because I felt like I had been slammed around by a tornado for hours. Both babies were very healthy and needed no oxygen or intervention.

I was surprised by how much shrieking they did. I was used to seeing newborns being quiet after birth, but mine shrieked back and forth to each other even two hours after delivery. What surprised everyone involved was how quickly and easily I had given birth to my twins. I had total trust in my body which I believe helped me progress well. We all left the hospital two days after the birth and we have all been doing great since then. My daughters are now four months old and keeping me very busy!

What advice would you give to other expectant mothers? What I want other moms-to-be to know is that listening to your inner vioce and your body is the smartest thing. The doctors don't know everything and don't be afraid to disagree or stand up to them. Multiple births CAN be uncomplicated and intervention free!